


Subtle Comfort

by gray_autumn_sky



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-23
Updated: 2016-09-23
Packaged: 2018-08-16 23:01:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8120974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gray_autumn_sky/pseuds/gray_autumn_sky
Summary: Post 5x19, Regina opens up to Robin about her complicated feelings regarding Cora and Zelena.





	

“She’s really okay,” Regina breathes out, as the purple smoke settles around her and her eyes fall to Robin, holding a bundle of pink against his chest as he lays back on the against bed frame.

He nods as a tired smile stretches over his lips.

She’s later than usual, and he’s waited up. For the past few days, it’s been a part of their routine—after Henry falls asleep, she transports herself to the tiny, secluded cabin at the edge of the woods. She joins him in bed or by the fire and they debrief their day before finally turning in for the night, cuddled up against each other. It’s a sense of normalcy for them both, and they crave it.

“I might say the same of you,” he says as she slides into the bed beside him, her breath catching at the back of her throat as he leans in and kisses her. She’s still not used to this—how he kisses her in a way that’s automatic and unwanting, and a gentle reminder that his love is free—and it catches her off guard.

“Well, no one tried to steal my soul today,” she murmurs, reaching out and rubbing two fingers over the back of the sleeping baby’s hand, smiling gently at the softness as she rests her head against Robin’s shoulder. “I’m so relieved she’s okay. I should have been…”

“Don’t.”

“Don’t what?” She asks, peering up at him with wide eyes.

“Blame yourself,” he tells her, before pressing his lips to her forehead. “What happened today wasn’t your fault.”

“I could have sent you back to Storybrooke,” she says in a barely audible voice, as guilt pangs at her core. It would have been easy to send him back with Snow; it would have made sense. After all, he had a child in danger and another child who was undoubtedly missing his father. Yet she didn’t. “I could have …”

“You know I won’t leave you here,” he says, turning his head and smiling gently, assuring her that he doesn’t blame her and more importantly, that he understands. “When we leave this place, we’ll leave it together.” Again, he presses a kiss to her forehead  as she cuddles closer, thankful that he won’t let her give into her guilt and thankful for his steadfast belief in _together_. “Besides, I heard you had some unfinished business of your own that you needed to tend to today?”

“Oh,” she breathes out, her eyes turning upward to meet his. “Yeah…I did.” She pauses, hesitating as she considers the day’s events. Mere hours before she would have never believed an amicable reunion with Zelena were possible, she would have never believed that her mother would admit to her mistakes, and she would never have believed the sense of relief those things brought to her. “Zelena and I knew each other as kids.”

She watches as Robin’s brow furrows, his chin tipping to the side as confusion fills his eyes.

“We were friends,” she tells him, smiling meekly as she shrugs her shoulders. “Everything that’s happened…it didn’t have to be the way it was.” She can feel him tense and she knows he’s thinking of what happened in New York, what happened to Marian, what happened to them; and once more, she feels guilt panging at her core. “My mother erased our memories and…”

“And the rest is the result.”

“Yeah…” Again, she feels him tense and she presses herself closer to him. “I know it doesn’t excuse what Zelena did,” she murmurs. “Especially not what she did to you and Marian, but…”

“But it’s a start,” he interjects, turning his face toward her. “And for you, I’m glad.”

For a moment, their eyes meet and once more, she’s taken aback. Even after everything, his eyes are soft and sweet, filled with understanding and love, and once more she feels the familiar panging of guilt as a little voice at the back of her head reminders her that she doesn’t deserve him.

“What happened after that with your mother?” He asks, and when she hesitates, his arm tights around her—again, that subtle encouragement she’s only barely used to. “Tell me,” he urges as her eyes meet his.

Taking a breath, she nods. “After…she was able to move on.”

“Move on…”

“To somewhere better,” she says. “She was able to find peace.”

His eyebrows arch in response and she knows what he’s thinking; but he doesn’t say it. Instead, he asks, “How do you feel about that?”

“I…don’t know,” she admits quietly. “My mother was a lot of things—she was manipulative and selfish, she was cruel. I spent most of my life hating her for it, but…”

“She was your mother.”

She nods, “And I am a lot like her.” Her bottom lip catches between her teeth and she watches as he strums his fingers over her arm. “I can’t help but think that she was able to find peace in the end then…maybe there’s still hope for me.”

“There’s definitely still hope for you, Regina.” She cuddles closer into his side, tucking her chin back against his shoulder as she looks down at his daughter’s tiny hand curled around her finger—yet another reminder that something good could come from pain. “Oh, I didn’t tell you…” she hears him say after a few minutes have passed. “I finally chose a name for her.”

“Oh?” She asks, turning in his arms as her eyes grow wide. “What is it?”

“Esme,” he says slowly. “It means loved.” A smile stretches across her lips and her eyes cast back down to the little girl sleeping against her father’s chest. “Because no matter what—no matter how she started, no matter where life takes her—she’s wanted and she’s loved for simply being her.”

“I like that,” she tells him as her thumb rubs slowly against the baby’s soft hand. “It fits.”

He presses a kiss into her hair. “Everyone deserves love,” he murmurs as her eyes close and she nuzzles closer, understanding that he’s not just talking about the baby—again, it’s yet another subtle reminder of the comfort that his love brings to her.


End file.
